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Galapagos Activities
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Galapagos Family Travel
Galapagos Family Travel | Family Vacation Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Galapagos Family Travel | Family Vacation Galapagos Islands:
Galapagos Family Travel in the Galapagos Islands  with ROW Adventures takes your family on a vacation you will remember forever. A perfect family adventure for those with 12 people or less, our Galapagos Islands family vacations are unique in that they specifically cater to families. For 30 years, ROW Adventures has specialized in family adventure vacations and our award winning Galapagos Unbound trip has been designed to fit what you are looking for in a family vacation to the Galapagos Islands.
The Galapagos Islands are one of a few places on earth that allow for such intimate contact with a dazzling array of wildlife. Most Galapagos Islands family vacations are cruise-based and carry between 20-100 people. ROW Adventures' journey, the only one of its kind, allows a small group of families (12 people) to visit sites that are not on the main tourist routes. Your family will leave the crowds of visitors and well-worn paths behind to enjoy the peace of walking, snorkeling and paddling your way through this island paradise.
ROW Adventures' Galapagos Islands trip was featured in the New York Times and featured as a "Tour of a Lifetime" from National Geographic Traveler magazine. You will find the article entitled "Galapagos Unbound" by Tim Neville here at Galapagos Family Travel.
So what makes the Galapagos Family Travel Adventure different? On our award-winning Galapagos Island Adventure Tour we have specific dates that are exclusively reserved for families! Only families can go on these dates. This has proven, over many years, to help the group dynamic of the trip. We can also match your families ages with other families and create an ideal Galapagos Family vacation! Plus, we have hand-picked guides who are specifically trained in working with little ones.
These trips are priced based on the number of guests per trip. Roll-over the trip name below for the tier price breakdown.
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- Overview
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- Length: 5-10 Days
- Intensity: Easy
- Season: All Year
- Minimum Age: 8
- Begins In: Quito / Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Ends In: Quito / Guayaquil, Ecuador
Galapagos Family Travel
Our goal at ROW Adventures is to provide a high-quality vacation experience that allows families with children of all ages to be active, be entertained and gain a deeper understanding of the environment they are exploring in the Galapagos Archipelago.
There are several ways to experience the wonders of the Galapagos Islands. The traditional way is on a cruise ship that might carry as few as 8 people or as many as 80! Traditionally these are 7-8 day cruises that can welcome children as young as 5 on their designated family departures. For some families the Galapagos Islands Cruise is the perfect choice!
We want to meet each family's highest expectations so we offer a couple options for a more active Galapagos vacation for families.
Our Galapagos Unbound trip, pioneered in 2006, includes two nights of camping on San Cristobal island is the best choice for active families with children ages 7 and up. Each year we designate a number of departures exclusively for families. Typically these trips are scheduled to coordinate with the Christmas, Spring Break and Summer holidays. These multisport adventures are 10-days including your arrival and departure nights in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
If you are short on time or have date requirements that don’t fit in our scheduled departures, join us for our lodge-based Galapagos Island Vacations. These lodge to lodge adventures include stays in beautiful local lodges or camping in idyllic tree houses. These Galapagos vacations can be 5, 6 or 8 days in length. Our host, the Red Mangrove Lodge can accommodate children of any age; although, we recommend children ages 7 and up to participate in all the available activities.
Of all the options featured, the trip that offers the most inclusive for families is our 10-day Galapagos Unbound multisport vacation. This trip offers time for exploring the islands and the widest variety of activities available!
Whichever itinerary you decide on, we are confident you will experience the best vacation ever and come home with enough memories to last a lifetime! We are looking forward to welcoming you and your family to the Galapagos Islands.
Call 800-451-6034 and talk with one of our Family Adventure Travel Specialists to learn more about our Galapagos Family Travel adventures. |
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- Dates & Rates
- Below you will find all available instances of this trip. Roll over departure dates to see a complete list of departures. Roll over the demographic icons to get a brief overview of the demographic group.
- Why ROW
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The ROW Difference on Galapagos Family Travel Vacations
- Departures specifically designed for families only
- Custom trips available for family groups
- Multisport trips limited to just 12 - 14 guests (typically 3-4 families)
- Expert bilingual tour leaders in addition to Park Service Certified Naturalist guides lead our trips
- Accommodations in locally-owned, high quality beach-front boutique hotels, cabins on cruise ships with 20 passengers or less, or idyllic tree houses on the islands
- We have the only Galapagos Adventure that includes two nights camping on the islands
- All top-quality camping gear provided
- All appropriate camping gear included
- All airport transfers included
- We follow "Leave No Trace" camping practices
- Visit sites off the beaten path
- The original Galapagos multisport featured in the New York Times
- Strong Responsible Travel Actions (see below)
Responsible Travel
We are proud that our Galapagos Islands Tours have a significant and beneficial economic impact in the Galapagos Islands and we leave a large percentage of the trip fee on the Islands.
- We stay in local hotels, eat in local restaurants, hire local guides and buy all our trip provisions and food in the Galapagos. This is sometimes quite challenging as what is available changes from week to week, but we believe in the importance of contributing to the local economy as much as possible. On the Island of Isabela we include a visit to the Pescado Azul Women’s Association whose principal objective is to increase the quality of life of fishermen and their families in the community of Puerto Villamil. The business provides a sustainable economic alternative for these women and the 200 fishermen who lack full time employment on the island. We buy their delicious smoked tuna pâté and other items to serve on our trips.
- Our trips also offer an excellent opportunity for our guests to interact with locals, providing a cultural element that hardly exists on yacht based trips. If you have an interest in understanding how the local human population lives in the Galapagos, you will gain many insights on this ROW adventure.
- On each island, we also hire the services of local boat owners and tour operators who support our trips in various ways. Some of these operators are local fishermen who are currently transitioning their livelihood from fishing to tourism. This is a goal that the National Park Service fully supports in order to better protect the marine life of the Galapagos, as well as better diversify the local economy. The Park Service has recently created special provisions to encourage fishermen to make this transition and we are glad to be able to help make this a reality for some of them.
- We have helped our local dive and support boat operators to finance the conversion of their boats from 2 stroke to 4 stroke engines making them more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.
- ROW is a full member of the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA). We ask every single guest who travels with us to add to our contributions. IGTOA funds conservation projects across the archipeligo and as of April 2009 ROW is proud to be recognized, along with our guests, as the 3rd biggest contributor to this worthy cause.
We "know" these islands! Go here for detailed info about each one: Galapagos Islands Descriptions |
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- Itinerary
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Galapagos Family Vacations
Below is a sample itinerary for our land-based Galapagos Unbound adventures. This land-based trip is just one of the many ways you can experience the Galapagos Islands. We can also help you arrange a shorter land-based vacation or perhaps a cruise is more your desire? Whatever the case may be, we are ready to help you plan your next family adventure!
DAY 1 – Depart home with your family and arrive in Guayaquil. Most flights arrive in the evening and a representative will meet your family at the airport and take you to the hotel.
DAY 2 – Along with your ROW Adventures guide, take a morning flight from Guayaquil to San Cristobal, the first of the Galapagos Islands on our trip. This is also our first chance on your Galapagos family vacation to get in the kayaks and meet some local wildlife. Next we take a catamaran to our beach camp to settle in and enjoy watching sea lions, blue footed boobies and more as the sun sets.
DAY 3 – Already on day four of your Galapagos family travels, you'll eat breakfast and head for Cerro Brujo, Kicker Rock and finally Isla Lobos, this is an amazing day of snorkeling when your family will see Galapagos and white tipped reef shark, eagle rays and even swim with the ever playful sea lions. After lunch we take a kayak trip before returning to relax on the beach and enjoy our last night of camping.
DAY 4 – This morning we take an early morning walk before heading to the airport to fly to the island of Isabela and check into our beachfront hotel. After lunch we spend the afternoon visiting the Tortoise Breeding Center which kids of all ages love! Take the family on a stroll along the spectacular white sandy beach before dinner.
DAY 5 – This day your family will see a different view of the Galapagos when we drive to the highlands and begin our hike of Isabela’s Sierra Negra. Your family will find this volcano amazing and will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have lunch on a volcano! After the day's hike take your family and enjoy some time on the beach or in town relaxing.
DAY 6 – In the morning, your family will visit Estuary Beach where the fresh water artesian springs flow into the sea providing a perfect opportunity for the family to swim among the magroves. After this, we head to Campo Duro, half way up the slopes of Sierra Negra where your family will meet the giant galapagos tortoise some of them are over 120 years old. After lunch in the beautiful organic gardens your family will head to Tintoreras, a unique volcanic island, home to young marine iguanas and white tipped reef sharks.
DAY 7 – After an early breakfast, take a two and a half hour boat ride to Santa Cruz Island and check into your family's waterfront hotel. When we arrive in Puerto Ayora your family will immediately set out on a spectacular wildlife tour. A short boat ride, 8 nautical miles northwest of here, your family lands on a sandy beach and takes a short hike to view the lounging sea lions and the unique Galapagos marine iguanas basking in the sun on the lava rocks. Finally, today we take a trip to Tortuga Bay and kayak along the west side of the beach hopefully seeing the sea turtles that give the bay its name!
DAY 8 – A short 1 hour boat trip takes your family to the island of Santa Fe, home of one of the most beautiful coves in all of the Galapagos. Feral goats were eradicated from Santa Fe in 1971 and a number of endemic species have thrived since then including the Galapagos hawk, Galapagos snake, numerous finches and the Galapagos Mocking bird. We take the opportunity to snorkel here and are often joined by the playful sea lion pups. The fluorescent fish will deliver your family a great snorkeling experience as do the submerged rocks where the sea turtles and manta rays hang out.
DAY 9 – Your Galapagos family vacation last day on the islands. Our last day on the islands takes us to the Galapagos highlands to visit again with perhaps the islands’ most famous resident; the giant Galapagos Tortoise. Weighing up to 500 pounds these gentle giants are scattered all over the islands. In the afternoon your family will take their flight back to Guayaquil for overnight and a final dinner with the rest of the families on your Galapagos Family Travel Adventure.
DAY 10 – Transfer to the airport for your family's return flight home or continue your family travels to Machu Picchu or on our Ecuador Haciendas adventure tour. |
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Galapagos Family Travel
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